Böcker av Ira (University of Maryland Berlin

Three essays present an introduction and history of the emancipation of the slaves during the Civil War by tracing the destruction of slavery, examining the evolution of freedom, and finally demonstrating how the war itself was transformed into a struggle for universal liberty.

Slaves achieved a degree of economic independence, producing food, manufacturing goods, marketing their own products, consuming and saving the proceeds and bequeathing property to their descendants. The editors of this volume contend that the legacy of slavery cannot be understood without a full appreciation of the slaves' economy.

When nearly 200,000 black men, mostly former slaves, entered the Civil War, they transformed it into a struggle for liberty and changed the course of American history. Freedom's Soldiers tells those men's story in their words and those of eyewitnesses. These letters, affidavits, and memorials reveal the variety and complexity of the African-American experience during the era of emancipation.